


Chapter XI: The Clearing of Rain, Part 2

by SallySS



Series: Love Trunk [14]
Category: Claymore
Genre: Beheading, Bisexuality, Explicit Language, F/F, Facing Death, Homosexuality, Trans Male Character, wlw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-08
Updated: 2018-04-08
Packaged: 2019-04-20 09:22:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14257881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SallySS/pseuds/SallySS
Summary: Excerpts from the daily life of Rona, a new addition to the warriors known as Claymore, led by the mysterious Organization. Follow her through her struggles and triumphs as she fights to survive against the flesh craved yoma and awakened beings.- Getting allies to actually work together is not easy, even lethal





	Chapter XI: The Clearing of Rain, Part 2

**Author's Note:**

> This took a while to write with me changing jobs and being in a writing funk. I'm not 100% happy with how it came out and it feels very choppy to me but I felt like I couldn't sit on it any longer and I just needed to post it already and move on.

“I’ve heard about you… Stephanie told me about a warrior named Clare, the lowest of her generation, where the organization could never figure out where her power came from. I hadn’t realized that the organization had been around so long considering they had destroyed all the evidence. Why did your story survive? What makes you so special?”   
  
Clare hooked her kettle carefully back over the fire to keep her tea warm, her eyes distant and not fixed upon anything or anyone. “I’m not special, just stupidly lucky and stubborn. The only success I ever tasted was carried on the backs of my friends. My rank was never a lie, I was weak - the weakest - but that never stopped me from throwing myself headlong into the jaws of fate, only to be rescued each and every time by comrades who cared more about my life than I did. Something inside me knew that I could never hope to avenge the death of my most cherished protector, no matter how much I proclaimed it was my goal. I never knew why I put myself in such danger; whether I had fooled myself into thinking I could do it, or if I had just wanted to die to see her again.”   
  
“That can’t be true, you killed a single digit awakened being single handedly. That couldn’t have just been a mistake.”    
  
“It was single handedly, but it wasn’t my hand.” Clare lifted her right arm, staring into her palm. “I was gifted this arm after I had lost mine to the warrior of the very awakened you speak of. I was nothing compared to her as a warrior, and she only grew stronger with her awakening. This arm was from a former number 2, Irene, and even though I wielded it clumsily, it proved its power.” She put her hand back down in her lap, looking up slowly. “Isn’t that right Stella?”   
  
Rona looked between the two women as the silence grew in intensity. “What… is she talking about?”   
  
Stella took a deep breath, not breaking eye contact with Clare. “I did not find Clare. Clare found me. Despite my abilities to read and manipulate yoki, Clare’s abilities were simply too advanced from her years of experience for me to ever track her down. When she conceals her yoki aura, there is simply nothing left to sense. What I  _ didn’t _ know, was that I was a pawn; a pawn in the organization’s game. My yoki was meant to entice her to hunt me down, not the other way around, and they simply hoped that when Clare did rear her head that I might be able to stand up against her because of the pure hatred I had for her.”   
  
“Entice her? Why would your yoki entice her?”    
  
Stella did not say anything, but instead lifted the hem of her dress, revealing that mid thigh she had faint scar lines. She also shrugged off her cloak, similar faint lines running around her shoulders. “After I became a warrior, they convinced me that I would never be strong enough to avenge my family. They told me that with their help, I could become so much more, that I could surpass all who came before me and seek out the justice I so deserved.” Stella fixed her clothing as she tried to word this in a way that Rona would understand. “Clare’s protector, Teresa, died in a battle against an awakened being named Priscilla with so much hate in her heart she was almost unkillable. Clare took Teresa’s severed head, and had her flesh and blood infused with her body to become a half warrior. Clare, after unlocking Teresa’s strength, finally killed Priscilla, the awakened that no other warrior could match. Clare may have taken Teresa’s head, however, the organization recovered Teresa’s body… I now wield her arms and legs.”   
  
“And Clare came out of hiding because she could sense the yoki of her protector surging through your body. You were bait.” Rona couldn’t believe what she was hearing, did the organization think that Stella was on par with Clare?

 

Clare stoked the fire idly, “If I hadn’t known better, I would have come charging to her like my heart so desperately wanted. I had confined myself to this cave for so long I almost lost my mind, and when I felt her aura I was simply overcome with joy, ready to run to her no matter the distance and throw myself into Teresa’s loving arms. But I had just enough sense left that I realized, the only reason I knew what Teresa’s yoki felt like was because she was gone, because she was inside me, because she told me she would always be with me.”   
  
Rona picked up her cup of tea, letting the warmth permeate into her palms. “So what stopped you two from killing each other?”   
  
“At first, Clare did have the upperhand. She ambushed me and continued to suppress her yoki so I could not control her. It infuriated me to no end that she would not turn into the monster I saw slay my family, like she was toying with me. My skills in battle, however, far surpassed anything that I was capable of before, and although the battle was long, and I was far less experienced, I stood victorious. I took my place over her body, sword poised to plunge through her throat and cut off her head… but my arms refused to move. They would not bend to my will. No part of Teresa would kill Clare.” It was clear that even though Stella was cooperating with Clare, she still wanted the woman dead for what she did.   
  
“Ironic that the very weapon the organization gave you to defeat me was the only thing that could stop you from doing it.” Clare sipped her tea, letting the tension in the room die down a bit. “Stella had expressed in battle that she was avenging her family, so once I realized she could not deal the killing blow, I dug deeper to try and understand why she was doing this. I told her all I knew about the organization, all the lies and treachery they hold. Understandably, she needed proof, and that is when the both of you met before she took off for the north, leaving you to look after her comrade.”   
  
Rona glanced at Stella, wondering if she could somehow manipulate thoughts, but turned back to Clare. “So you’ve been fighting against the organization for decades, do you have a plan on how to get rid of them once and for all?” Rona sipped the tea and tried not to make a face at the bitter taste; she was used to Adaira sweetening up her tea.

 

“I don’t know if there will ever be a way to stop them. Back in my generation, and the generations before me, they did not bribe adults, they took orphans and stole children, they are not above doing it again. As long as the war rages in the mainland, they will look for a weapon to use.”

 

“Clare, perhaps that is the answer.” Stella interjected, “Give them the weapon they are looking for.”   
  
Clare sat up more straight, looking concerned at this idea, “What are you saying?”   
  
“They experiment on us to try and create a weapon that they can use to win their war. If we are their weapon, they would leave this place.”   
  
“Have you lost your mind?!”   
  
“We can decide their war. They will take us to the battlefront, and if the organization wins they will never have to return to this place, but if their enemies win, there will be no one left from the organization to come to this island.”   
  
“You have no idea the kinds of things they fight against. They create us warriors from the bodies of the monsters they fight. Who’s to say if they win that they would not turn their sights to us to eradicate human life? The enemy of our enemy is not always our friend, Stella!”   
  
“That’s a decision we can make when we get there. Or perhaps we can just kill them all.”   
  
“You’re blood drunk and I will not listen to your childish half-baked ideas!”   
  
“You’re just too complacent to take a stand! You’ve been hiding in this cave so long you forgot what it’s like to fight!”   
  
Clare clenched her teeth, “I did not fight for years and suffer through the deaths of my friends and family at the hands of the organization to have one of their little corpse sewn freaks to tell me that I can’t take a stand. The only reason you’ve gotten this far is because you have power that isn’t even yours!”

 

“Corpse sewn freak? I could say the same about you, you monster.” Stella snarled, looking like she was ready to throw herself over the fire separating them.

 

Rona took another sip of tea before cutting in, “Well, you two really sound like you’re working together perfectly.” She stretched a bit before standing up. “They say wars aren’t won by how many people you have, but by how they fight together. And with you two, you’ll kill each other before you can even get to the dock. That look in Stella’s eye says she’s going to tear off her arm and regenerate a new one just to stab you.” She set her cup down and motioned for them to follow as she meandered towards the cliff.   
  
“Where are you going?” Clare said with a hint of exhaustion.   
  
“We’re going to train together. Not only do I know you both want to hit each other, but it will get you used to how the other fights. If the organization is going to come down by your hands, then those hands need to be pulling in the same direction.”   
  
Stella pinched the bridge of her nose before finally getting up, “I hate it when you’re right…”   
  
Clare watched the two of them rise and stand near the exit before she turned and faced her bedroll, fishing around underneath the cloth and pulled out her own claymore. She stood and looked at the blade, “Still as sharp as the day I received it. It will be returned to them with equal suffering as it was received.”

 

\--------------------------------------

 

“More of the hunting party will arrive when we begin to spar.” Stella pointed out, but didn’t seem too concerned.   
  
“Good practice.” Rona smirked. “You’re going to have to fight them eventually, might as well do it when they’re in small numbers. Divide and conquer.” Rona turned to Clare who was looking off into the distance, shifting her feet around in the grass. “Clare, is there a reason you did not awaken in your fight with Stella?”   
  


Clare nodded, “Unleashing my awakened form causes the hunger to intensify. When I attacked Stella’s village, it was right after my initial awakening and I could not yet control myself. I have sealed it away, but the hunger makes me weak as it grows over time. I fear I may lose control again. The more power I use, the more it pains me.”   
  
Rona chewed on her bottom lip as she thought some, wondering how to work past this conundrum. “I could regenerate body parts, but awakened don’t like the taste of other warriors, do they?”   
  
Clare shook her head, “Yoma do not consume each other as their flesh tastes rotten. The same goes for warriors. Even half warriors like myself are distasteful and it does not satisfy the hunger.”

  
“What if… What if we took criminals out of towns? Murderers and rapists, the worst of worst who are already going to be hanged.” Rona nodded, seeing that as a good moral compromise. “If you’re going to eat people, might as well clean up the garbage while you’re doing it.”   
  
Stella had turned her back to the two, “Tch, so now we have to figure out how to feed the monstrosity?” The rage in her heart was still stoked from the earlier quarrel.   
  
Rona gritted her teeth and thought about kicking the back of Stella’s knee like her general used to do when people lipped off. “I really don’t need your sass right now, sunshine. At full power I’m sure Clare could blow you out of the water.”   
  
That seemed to hit a nerve as she turned to look at Rona with her yellow slitted eyes. “Don’t start with me Rona, or you’re going to be face to face with those goddesses you love so much.”

 

Rona giggled to antagonize her, and when Stella threw a punch, Rona easily dodged it, grabbing the length of her arm and using the momentum to throw Stella onto her back.    
  
The superior was so stunned that she was on the ground looking up at the two of them, and her cheeks blazed with embarrassment.    
  
“See, that’s where everyone else has an advantage on you, you have no formal training in fighting. If you’re not tapping into the power of your borrowed limbs, you’re only as battle-competent as when you were a civilian. You have no idea how many warriors they have at their disposal, and you may reach your yoki limits in battle. You can NOT be a one trick pony.” Rona unsheathed her sword and faced Clare, “No yoki, just sparring.”   
  
With a nod, Clare took the offensive and began to press Rona back. She pulled some hits, getting a feel for Rona’s skill, and fell in a comfortable level of force to use for sparring. “Your form is impressive for a defensive type warrior, you can take the brunt force of a parry without having to redirect my strike. What is your specialty?”   
  
“Specialty? As in like a signature move?” She felt Clare was going too easy on her and waited till she felt a rhythm coming on before stepping out of the way and then pressing Clare back, upping the force in which she struck. “I don’t have one as far as I know.”

 

“I see.” Clare smiled a bit at the cheeky nature of Rona, who outwardly seemed so calm and collected. She could feel the fire inside her, like Clare had herself when she was young. “I guess you will come to one in time.” To add a bit of flair, she decided to give Rona a taste of her windcutter technique, just enough to give her a few hairline cuts along her arms. Clare took a deep breath and with razor sharp focus, lashed out with the nearly untraceable speed of her blade.   
  
Rona sensed something coming, saw the look in Clare’s eyes change, the rise of her chest with the deep breath anticipating the strike, and like the trained soldier she was, she didn’t need to think before her body sprang into action to protect her. 

 

Clare’s blade connected with Rona’s skin, but did not cut.

 

It was over as soon as it had begun, not a complete second had past but Clare had unleashed at least 3 dozen slashes against Rona’s skin. Yet there Rona stood without so much as a single budding drop of blood on her, flesh untouched.   
  
“Well, perhaps you just do not realize you have one.”   
  
Rona grabbed her arm with her free hand. She felt the blade kiss her skin but it did not cut. “What was that? What did you do? I couldn’t follow your blade.”   
  
“You see, when we become warriors, we gain more than just the ability to use yoki. The flesh imbued within us changes us all uniquely. I still don’t quite understand it, but when I first fought against a single digit warrior she attempted to explain it to me; your body changes physically based on… something deeper, your soul perhaps. She told me that an offensive warrior has difficulty healing and can almost never regenerate limbs which have been lost, but it was because they had decided that their goal in life is revenge, that they do not care about their own wellbeing, they simply strive to be as destructive as they possibly can. Defensive warriors though, they want to protect, to live and thrive, and their bodies often have deep pools of yoki to draw from to regenerate, a steady flow of life force to manipulate constructively, rather than the erratic pulsing yoki of an offensive warrior used to lash out and demolish all before them. But it doesn’t just affect your yoki. It is obvious that we become stronger and faster, even without dipping into our yoki, but we gain talents. They need to be cultivated more than just the instantly gratifying abilities that yoki gives us, but I believe that is what makes us truly a force to be reckoned with.”

 

“Was that my… talent? I don’t even know what I did.” Rona scratched at her skin and it felt normal to her, the same squishy flesh she’s always had. Her fingers trembled some, her saliva thick and hard to swallow. A thought gnawed at the back of her mind that she refused to allow to surface.   
  
Clare lifted her sword, “Actively suppress your yoki as much as possible and focus on your body. You are changed, remember that and embrace your new vessel.”   
  
The ring of swords clashing seemed so distance, and her hand stung slightly from the grip being ripped out of her palm. The world was a blur till she blinked to clear the tears welling in her eyes. Rona opened her mouth to speak, her lip quivering, “No. I am human. I am  **_still_ ** human.”   
  
Clare’s eyes were sad, filled with empathy, but her voice was harsh and her words cut deep, “Keep telling yourself that, and it will be what kills you.” She pulled her sword back, the blade height level with Rona’s neck, poised and ready to behead her in one fell swoop. “You must face the reality of what you are.”   
  
Rona searched Clare’s face, not seeing any hint of hesitation or remorse, and her heart began to beat wildly in response. Here she faced her fate; live on as a monster, or die clinging to the idea she was yet human.

 

Rona closed her eyes, saying a prayer to her goddesses, her final prayer, asking them to watch over Adaira, and to reunite them someday in the afterlife. She tilted her head back, lifting her face to the sky, “I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you, I wasn’t strong enough…” She lifted her arms, extending her upturned palms, trying to find an iota of peace in this moment before it was over. To trust others was to put your life in their hands, and this would be her punishment for choosing poorly.    
  
Clare looked away for a moment before setting her face, hardening her heart and letting her muscles tighten briefly before releasing their tension to let her massive sword swing out, the force behind it sure to part head from shoulders.   
  
Rona did not flinch, she did not tense, she did not breath, and in her divine stillness she heard it,

 

The whisper in the wind cut loose by Clare’s sword,

 

_ “You promised.” _

  
  
  
  
  


Rona felt blood running down her shoulder and she was frightened to open her eyes, she wasn’t sure if your soul parting from your body felt like anything, but considering she could still feel her shoulders under her head she presumed she was dead.   
  
“I go and sacrifice my hand and you manage to save yourself? Open your eyes genius.”   
  
It was Stella’s voice, and Stella’s blood. Rona opened her eyes and saw that she had put her hand in the way to attempt to stop the blade, but it did little to hinder it, the razors edge only halting at Rona’s skin where a shiny black patch had appeared, it looking much like the armored plates that appeared when she pushed her body to partially awaken.   
  
Clare pulled her blade away, “That was stupid of you, you knew you wouldn’t be able to stop my sword with just your hand.”   
  
“I didn’t have time to draw my sword, you were already swinging, you monster. You were fully ready to behead an ally, are you insane?” Stella pulled her hand close, holding the two halves of her palm together with her free hand and trying to focus her yoki on healing. She tried not to show how much she was shaking, the thought of losing yet another whom she called friend shook her to her core.   
  
Clare had opened her mouth to explain, but it was quickly shut with a sharp uppercut from Rona. All the adrenaline had hit her system at once and the elven warrior stood there shaking and sobbing, fists clenched white knuckled, her voice cracking. “What the hell gives you the right?!” She reached out, grabbing the front of Clare’s sun bleached clothes and bringing the two face to face. “What gives you the right to claim my life?! You have a lot of nerve telling  _ me _ I’m not human!”   
  
“And what separates the two, Rona? Human and monster; where does one end and the other begin? I’ve seen many people you would call human that I would call monster, like the very men who made us how we are. And I’ve befriended monsters with more compassion than any you would call human. Your body is a vessel, and a vessel is just a tool, it is your soul that makes you human, it is the love you hold in your heart.” She grabbed Rona’s wrists and pulled them off her clothing. “Embrace that your tool has changed, it has become a better weapon, your physical body is not what makes you human.”   
  
Stella scoffed, “Big talk coming from the thing that  _ eats people. _ ”

 

“My my, look at how well the rebellion works together!” the strange deep voice made all three women turn. Heslin waved from a distance, as casual as ever.

 

“Heslin!” Rona’s excited call was accompanied by two raised swords beside her. “Oh stop it, he's not one of them!” She jogged over to embrace him. “I'm glad to see you're still alive.”

 

“Thanks to you. I had no idea that Delilah was working against us. She's still alive you know.”

 

Rona nodded, “I know, and surprisingly the least of my problems…”

 

Heslin peeked from around Rona to take a look at Stella and Clare, “You need better friends. Regardless, I can't stay, I came to warn you. Lune is dead, but the other two, Iris and Abdima, are still alive.”

 

“What?! How? Stella killed them back in the north.” 

 

“If you don't destroy the head, they will regenerate. I've seen them and they are out for blood. Their bodies are like abyss feeders, nearly indestructible. But they have a weakness.”

 

Rona grabbed hold of his arms, “What?! What is it?!”

 

“They can't awaken. They can't even use yoki to make themselves stronger. When we fought against them in the woods, all we saw was illusions manipulated by Lune. When you fight against them, you're already fighting the strongest version of them. Some can use yoki to manipulate you like Lune, but it is excessively rare. Most are offensive warriors.”

 

“That's the best news I've heard in a long time.” Rona smiled, nodding and feeling like maybe the world wasn't coming to an end. “But what are you going to do? If they find out about you helping us…”

 

“The organization isn't as all-seeing and all-powerful here as they like to think they are. I'll be fine.” Heslin kissed Rona’s forehead like an older brother. “I can't fight against the organization, they gave me a new life, but I also won't just go along with their plans.”

 

“I better see you again when this is all over.” Rona warned.

 

“I'll be closer than you think, little sis.”


End file.
